A first trade edition copy of Atomic Energy for Military Purposes (1945), signed by 25 members of the Manhattan Project, is among the highlights of a December 4 sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York.
The lot is valued at $8,000-12,000.
 The book was published shortly after the bomb dropped and quickly became a bestseller |
Scientists working under the Manhattan Project, led by Robert Oppenheimer, designed and constructed the first atomic bomb during the second world war.
The book is also known as the Smyth Report, as it was authored by physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth.
It was intended to provide information on the powerful new weapon to US citizens.
Swann comments: "We have been able to confirm that at the first 19 of these individuals (and likely the other 6 as well) were part of the 'Project Y' team at Los Alamos.
"Mounted inside the front cover is a 3x3" printed label with the symbol of the Los Alamos Laboratory, designed by George Beyers, head of security at Los Alamos.
"This is the symbol for 'Project Y', code name for the laboratory that designed and fabricated the first atomic bomb. We can locate only one other mention of this symbol on any related artifact or document."
An archive of photographs from the Manhattan Project showing the devastating effects of the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki sold for $45,000 at Kaminski Auctions in 2012.
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